Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto is launching a two-part expert panel series that explores how poverty and disability intersect to deepen barriers to food and housing, with virtual sessions set for April 20 and 27. 

The sessions, offered in collaboration with the Jesuit Forum for Social Faith and Justice, come as post-pandemic food insecurity and homelessness remain stark in Toronto and across Canada. According to the 2025 Disability Poverty Report Card, of the roughly 1.5 million people with disabilities, 16 per cent live in poverty, nearly double the 9.5-per-cent rate for non-disabled Canadians, with the depth of poverty worsening to an average of 30-per-cent below the poverty line.

Similarly, Statistics Canada showed in November 2025 that, in Ontario, the poverty rate was 11.9 per cent for persons with disabilities compared to 8.4 per cent for those without. Disability advocates say that figure is higher than the number suggests due to the added cost of living with a disability not being adequately captured in Canada’s official poverty measure.

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As senior advisor of policy, research and advocacy for Catholic Charities, Elio Sergnese noted that the organization has been keeping close track of these intersecting crises since the pandemic brought homelessness and food insecurity into a much sharper focus. An inaugural poverty series took place on last October, examining housing and food insecurity as symptoms of poverty. 

As Sergnese explains, the focus has now shifted to disabilities as the organization's next informative approach. 

“We looked at  reports that identified, within the top three groups of people that are experiencing poverty, people with disabilities were among the top three. It was a logical advancement of our poverty discussion, as a number of the Catholic agencies within our network also work in the disability sector,” he said.

Using the same delivery as last fall, Catholic Charities will offer the two-part expert panel discussion via Zoom. Part one will focus on the lived realities of poverty for people with disabilities, including addressing barriers to food security, housing and the roles of basic income. One week later, the conversation will shift to advocacy and action, offering concrete tools and strategies for addressing the realities stressed in part one. 

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Both parts are designed to build on and complement each other, with Wendy Porch from the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto set to moderate discussions on both nights. 

April 20 will feature David Petkau, executive director for the South District of Karis Disability Services, formerly known as Christian Horizons, in Ontario. With a background in residential services, Petkau is set to speak specifically on the role of housing. He will be joined by Rabia Khedr, the national director of Disability Without Poverty. 

The second session will feature Susanna Chen, who holds extensive advocacy experience, having helped in establishing the National Autism Network, and Jovanna Scorsone, an advisor with March of Dimes Canada on improving access to disability benefits. 

Across both sessions, Sergnese hopes the effort towards advancing the discussion around the relationship between disabilities and poverty comes across in an educational, yet digestible, manner. 

“ Oftentimes, we take things for granted, especially someone who's not living with a disability. When you're thinking about housing and food insecurity, those can be resolved either through some form of assistance, but for someone who is living with a disability, it's much more complicated than that,” he said. 

“ I think it's important too, to have the community know really what's going on, as oftentimes it's the voices of people in the margins that are missed. Catholic Charities is in a position where we can organize meetings like these, invite people with lived experience and hear from them, rather than try to just imagine what it's like.”  

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With events now open to the broader community as opposed to solely Catholic agencies, combined with their ongoing collaboration with the Jesuit Forum to help promote the series, Sergnese hopes for upwards of 50 people to attend each panel. 

Register for the first session on April 20 online.